FOR YOUR GAME

A BIT OF TURF EDUCATION MAKES PRACTICE BETTER FOR EVERYONEBy James Achenbach

Oregon City, Ore.We take our golf clubs - the best

that money can buy - and we slash andbash the ground on our practice rangesuntil all traces of grass are gone andeven the earthworms are begging formercy.

Don't laugh. There is a growingrevelation in golf about how we shouldtreat the turf while practicing. It is abig deal.

Golfers unearth too many full, freshdivots on practice ranges. Regrowingthis grass, once it has been pulverizedby golfers taking ferocious chops atstationary round balls, can be difficultand time consuming (four to six weeks,under the best of conditions).

At one time or another, virtuallyall golfers have been affected bychewed-up ranges. The condition ofthese ranges can be summarized inone word: Dirt.

The experience is unpleasant. Itcan be deflating as well, because golfis difficult enough when there is grassunderneath the ball.

This has become one of golf's

68 Golfweek • December 9-16, 2011 • wwwgolfweek.com

peskiest problems. Many courses haveinadequate practice areas, with toolittle grass and too many human grasseradicators. Because practice rangesare a dependable source of incomefor many courses, solutions need tobe explored.

One answer is education. Mostgolfers, whether they are beginnersor advanced players, want to help thesport. With a little divot education,that's exactly what they can do.

Here at Stone Creek Golf Club, amunicipal course owned by ClackamasCounty, I am taking an informal lessonin divot management. My instructoris Dave Phipps, head superintendentat Stone Creek.

Here's what all of us should do onthe range: For any shot that will resultin a divot, place the ball at the grassyback edge of a previous divot. Theamount of grass that is destroyed willbe reduced dramatically.

Here's what we shouldn't do: Usea scatter gun approach for each shot,searching for a lush piece of turf forevery ball.

All my life I've paid attention to the

DavePhipps

divot patterns of skilled golfers. Thesepatterns often are like fingerprints, orpersonal statements, and many golfersrepeat the patterns.

Unfortunately many golfers, includ-ing professionals, are doingit incorrectly. They aremaking another mistakethat hinders the regrowthof grass on our practiceareas: They claim a squareor rectangle of turf as theirown, obliterating all grass

and leaving a patch of dirt.The problem here is one of healing.

No matter how these areas are sanded,aerified, topdressed, seeded and fertil-ized, the healing process is extended.

Golfers who want their ranges tosupport maximum usage and quickregrowth should encourage fellowplayers to create longer, thin stripsin the turf (think of these patterns assnakes).

In his nursery, Phipps isperforming research on creepingryegrass for his practice tee. He alsois experimenting with a new varietyof Kentucky bluegrass.

On the left is the divot pattern for 25 range shots hit withthe ball positioned properly. At right, 25 random divots.

Widely honored on a state andregional basis, Phipps took a giantstep into the national spotlight inNovember when he was named thewinner of the 2012 President's Awardfor Environment Stewardship givenout by the Golf Course Superinten-dents Association of America.

"This is a well-deserved honor forDave," said GCSAA president RobertRandquist. "He is the consummateenvironmental steward and continues

to be an innovativeleader in sustainableland management forthe golf industry."

Phipps, an 11-yearGCSAA Class A mem-ber, is a graduate ofOregon State Univer-sity. He has been atStone Creek, a PeterJacobsen/Jim Hardy-designed course, sinceconstruction in 2000.

"I'm ready to put upa sign in a prominent

place on our range," Phipps said of hisone-acre practice tee. "The sign willexplain divot patterns and how to hitpractice balls. This range is my baby,and I want everybody here to be proudof it. I cut it twice a week, and I alsovacuum it so that it looks better and allthe maintenance is quicker and moreeffective."

Phipps certainly isn't the onlyperson beating his drum on thepractice tee. U.S. Golf Association

agronomist Ty McClellan wrote in theUSGA Green Section Record: "Sincerandomly scattering divots can quicklydestroy a practice range tee, the betterapproach is to shrink one's divots by. . . placing each shot directly behindthe previous divot."

McClellan quotes assistant superin-tendent Chris Pekarek at The VillageLinks of Glen Ellyn (111.). Pekarekestimates that more than 2 millionshots are taken annually on his 1.25-acre practice tee and that 1.5 millionof the shots result in turf removal.

That's a lot of turf mayhem.The ultimate curse of mangled

practice turf is that some facilitieserect mats in place of grass. There isno such thing as a fat shot on a mat.The clubhead will bounce into the ballevery time. Furthermore, joint andshoulder injuries can be a hazard forgolfers who regularly hit hundredsof balls off mats.

Want to help solve one of golf'stroublesome problems? Manageyour divots. o

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Golfweek • December 9-16,2011 • www.golfweek.com 59